AN Overview of Academic Writing

1. Presented By:
Fatimatuz Zahro Khoirun Nisa’
Abdul Hamid Aly
PRINCIPLES OF ACADEMIC
WRITING

2. BasicPrinciplesof Academic Writing
Basic
Principles
Cohe
sion
Clarity
Logical
Order
Consis
tency
Unity
Concis
eness
Comple
teness
Variety
Forma
lity

3. Cohesion
Cohesion means as the smooth movement
or flow between sentences and paragraphs.
It refers to connectivity in a text. Coherence
refers to how easy it is to understand the wr
iting. Cohesion is also a very important aspe
ct of academic writing, because it immediate
ly affects the tone of your writing.

4. Clarity
Clarity is the meaning of what you are inten
ding to communicate is perfectly clear; the r
eader does not have to “read between the li
nes” to guess what you are saying, or in the
other word is clear purpose.

5. Logical order
Logical order refers to a logical ordering of i
nformation. In academic writing, writers tend
to move from general to specific. Developin
g points and ordering information in a certa
in way can help keep the reader centered o
n the focus of the paragraph. It can also hel
p the writer create a paragraph with a clear
purpose that is easy for readers to follow.

6. Consistency
Consistency refers to uniformity of writing st
yle. The writer should be consistent: either u
se note form or complete sentences. The pri
nciple of parallelism also exemplifies consist
ency (the same grammatical structures shoul
d be consistently used in a list). Finally, in cit
ing sources, consistency of style is also esse
ntial.

7. Unity
Unity refers to the exclusion of information t
hat does not directly relate to the topic bein
g discussed in a given paragraph. In its broa
dest sense, an entire essay should be unified
; that is, within the paragraphs, the minor su
pports must support the major supports, wh
ich in turn must support the topic sentences
.

8. Conciseness
Conciseness is economy in the use of words.
Good writing quickly gets to the point and e
liminates unnecessary words and needless r
epetition. The exclusion of unnecessary infor
mation promotes unity and cohesion.

9. Completeness
Just because a source you have chosen does
not include certain information, you are not
excused from supplying all the basics in you
r essay. For this reason as well as others, yo
u must consult a variety of sources.

10. Variety
Variety helps the reader by adding some “sp
ice” to the text. It is achieved in part by usin
g various methods of joining ideas. In additi
on to constructing sentences of various type
s and lengths, the writer should try to use s
ynonyms when possible.

11. Formality
Academic writing is formal in tone. This mea
ns that sophisticated vocabulary and gramm
atical structures are used. In addition, the us
e of pronouns such as “I” and contractions i
s avoided.

12. Developing Speaking Skills Using Three Communicati
ve Activities (Discussion, Problem-Solving, and Role-
Playing)
English teaching and learning have the goal of focusing student
s so that they are able to use English for communication and as a tool f
or furthering their studies [1]. In the process of teaching and learning, th
e four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are sim
ultaneously performed. Normally, learners in an EFL context do not use t
he language in authentic situations. They possess inability in communica
ting appropriately and correctly. This leads to learners’ lack of self-confi
dence and avoidance when communicating with native English speakers.
In foreign language teaching and learning, ability to speak is the
most essential skill since it is the basic for communication [2] and it is t
he most difficult skill. Reference [3] stated that speaking English is the m
ost difficult for learners. In particular, EFL learners often stammer when
speaking English. This results from learners’ lack of exposure to authenti
c English language environments that allow them to use English for com
munication and expression. Furthermore, learners are not exposed to th
e cultures of the native English speakers. Speaking is the most important
and essential skill. Reference [4] stated that mastery of this skill illustrat
es that the speaker possesses precise knowledge of language.

13. According to many teaching theorists, speaking skill can be
developed through communicative activities which include an infor
mation gap, a jigsaw puzzle, games, problem-solving, and Role-play
ing. In addition, [5] supported this idea that the activities that can
assist better speaking skills are free discussion and role-playing. Al
so, [6] stated that the language activities are important factors in te
aching language for communication. Activities help create interacti
on in the language classroom. Additionally, communicative activities
can motivate the learners and establish good relationships between
the teacher and the students as well as among the students thereb
y encouraging a supportive environment for language learning.
The state and conditions of language learning and teaching
at Satri Rachinuthit School, Udon Thani, were unsatisfactory. Accor
ding to the report of [7] it was found that their foreign language le
arning strand was 50.83%, which was at the average level and at th
e lowest among the other strands of the school. From the study of
teaching theories in developing speaking skills using communicativ
e activities and many related research studies, it was hypothesized t
hat three communicative activities , discussion, problem-solving and
role-playing, might help solve the problem.

14. On the basis of this literature, as the researcher would stud
y the impacts of these three communicative activities, discussion, pr
oblem-solving and role-playing up students’ development of speak
ing skills and students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking
using the three communicative activities.